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Carolina Caroler A two-time award-winning publication of the North Carolina Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association

UPCOMING EVENTS NC ACDA 2014 FALL CONFERENCE September 19-20, 2014 UNC Charlotte *new location*

Dr. Eric Nelson, Clinician

-withNORTH CAROLINA SINGS! A Workshop for Young Voices September 20, 2014 Dr. Madeline Bridges, Clinician

Inside Building a Community Choir

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Conf. Clinician: Dr. Eric Nelson

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2014 Conference: Journeys Forward

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Middle School Assessment

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NC Sings! Madeline Bridges

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Enhancing your Education

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Show Choirs: Building Unity

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Upcoming Deadlines

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New Repertoire Initiative

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Treasurer’s Report 15

ACDA 2015 NATIONAL CONFERENCE February 25-28, 2015 Salt Lake City, Utah

Membership Application Form

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Directories NC ACDA Officers

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NC ACDA Specially

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NC ACDA R&S Chairs

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C a r oCarolina l i n a C aCaroler roler

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Building a Community Choir: Steps to Success NC ACDA Officers 2014 President Sandy Holland Charlotte Children’s Choir P.O. Box 30724 Charlotte, NC 28230 704.451.4194 srholland @charlottechildrenschoir.org

Past President Welborn E. Young (Bill) UNC Greensboro P.O. Box 26167 Greensboro, NC 27402 336.334.5493 [email protected] President-Elect Anne M. Saxon Central Carolina Children’s Chorus 4105 Sewanee Drive Winston-Salem, NC 27106 336.922.4073 [email protected] Secretary Bethany Jennings 101 Lakewood Road Belmont, NC 28012 336.501.0103 [email protected] Treasurer Catherine Butler 410 Westdale Place Greensboro, NC 27403 336.337.3153 [email protected] Membership Chair Rob Frazier Centenary United Methodist Church PO Box 658 Winston-Salem, NC 27102 336.391.1339 [email protected] Newsletter Editor Nathan Leaf NC State University Price Music Center Campus Box 7311 Raleigh, NC 27695 919.515.8280 [email protected]

Aaron Jackson, Community Choirs R & S Chair with Prof. John Boozer, Southeast Baptist Theological Seminary Of the Twelve Purposes of ACDA, the one that may have the most effect for life-long choral musicians is: To foster and promote the organization and development of choral societies in cities and communities. Such an ensemble that fosters great choral music across a wide spectrum of a community’s population is significant. This article highlights procedures helpful for developing and building a community choir and includes brief comments about the authors’ recent beginnings of the Raleigh-Durham Sacred Chorale (RDU SC). These steps include determining need, evaluating resources, developing support, and planning for the future. I. Determining the Need Identifying need for a community chorus requires investigation. To determine need, asking and answering the following two questions will inform many decisions in the initial stages of organization: 1. What opportunities are currently available for choral singing the community? 2. Is there an obvious need, which is not currently being met by existing ensembles, which may include a niche not represented in the current groups (i.e. Men’s Chorus, Women’s Chorus, Youth Chorus, Children’s Chorus)?

In 2011, the authors of this article realized an opportunity for a community chorus which performed the sacred music of the evangelical Christian tradition. There were a number of prominent, well-established choral societies actively presenting quality choral music in the Raleigh-Durham area. However, there was not a community chorus exclusively committed to presenting sacred music in worship contexts. We realized local church musicians were not participating in extracurricular singing because of their time restrictions and hectic schedules at times when most community choruses present concerts, namely Christmas and Easter seasons. The RDU SC offered these individuals the opportunity to sing in a community ensemble that presented quality sacred literature with rehearsal and performance schedules that did not conflict with their local church music ministry commitments. These outstanding singers and excellent sight readers longed to be in an ensemble that challenged them musically and kept to a compact rehearsal schedule. The RDU SC schedule consists of six weeks of rehearsal with two concerts. II. Evaluating community resources In determining the resources, the first possible consideration is the conductor. In most cases, this person is the creative and driving force behind the organization and must possess the time, the energy, and the understanding of the human voice in order to succeed. There are a number of people in the community willing to fill this role. They include public or private school music teachers, church musicians, university professors, and talented amateurs. (continued on page 12)

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2 0 1 4 N C AC DA C o n f e r e n c e C l i n i c a n Dr. Eric Nelson

NC ACDA Specially Appointed Officers Auditions

Dr. Eric Nelson is Director of Choral Studies at Emory University where he conducts the Concert Choir and the University Chorus. He also teaches graduate Choral Conducting, Methods and Literature. In addition, Dr. Nelson is the Artistic Director of the Atlanta Master Chorale, a professional chamber choir specializing in sacred a cappella repertoire, and the Minister of Music at the historic 2nd-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta. He has conducted choirs throughout North America and Europe, including performances in London, Rome, Krakow, Berlin, Leipzig, Prague, Moscow, Washington, D.C., Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Sydney Opera House. His choirs have appeared at six American Choral Directors Association conventions, including the Concert Choir's performance at Chicago's Orchestra Hall for the National Convention in 2011 and the Atlanta Master Chorale's performance in Winston-Salem for the Southern Regional Convention in 2012. His ensembles have been praised for their ability to combine a high level of technical precision with warmth of musical expression. This past June, his Atlanta Master Chorale was awarded the "Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence" by Chorus America. Dr. Nelson's compositions have been sung by choirs throughout the United States, including performances for the American Choral Director's Association, the Music Educators National Conference, the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, the Presbyterian Association of Musicians, the American Guild of Organists, and for numerous churches, colleges and universities. Dr. Nelson is past President of the Georgia chapter of the American Choral Directors Association, and is the recipient of a "Crystal Apple" award for excellence in teaching at Emory University and the "American Prize" in Choral Conducting. He holds degrees in voice and conducting from Houghton College, Westminster Choir College, and Indiana University. ■

Wendy Looker Guilford College 5800 W. Friendly Avenue Greensboro, NC 27410 336.316.2423 [email protected]

Conference Exhibits Aaron Jackson Christ Baptist Church 400 Newton Road Raleigh, NC 27615 919.573.5454 [email protected]

Conference Site Host Fred Spano UNC Charlotte

Department of Music 9201 University City Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28223 704.687.0263 [email protected] Lara Hoggard Award Chair Sam Doyle 1313 Westminster Drive Greensboro, NC 27410 336.282.0549 [email protected]

SSA All-State Coordinators Jeremy Truhel (2014) Forsyth Country Day School P.O. Box 549 Lewisville, NC 27023-0549 336.945.3151 [email protected] Sara Downey (2015) Wheatmore High School 410 Westdale Place Greensboro, NC 27403 336.908.1300

Technology Chair/ Webmaster Kelly Turner 336.655.8798 [email protected]

Conference Reading Sessions Eric Johnson James E. Holmes Middle School 211 N. Pierce Street Eden, NC 27288 336.623.9791 x108

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NC ACDA R&S Chairs Boychoirs VACANT

Children’s Choirs Nana Wolf-Hill First Presbyterian Church — Greensboro 622 Park Avenue Greensboro, NC 27405 651.208.4153 [email protected] College/University Choirs Andrew Crane Director of Choral Activities East Carolina University 102 A.J. Fletcher Music Center Greenville, NC 27528-4353 252.328.6243 Community Choirs Aaron Jackson Christ Baptist Church 400 Newton Road Raleigh, NC 27615 919.573.5454 [email protected] Ethnic and Multicultural Perspectives Melodie Galloway UNC Asheville 107 Lapinsky Hall, CPO 2290 Asheville, NC 28804 828.251.6432 [email protected] Jazz Choirs VACANT

Music in Worship Andy Roby First Baptist Church Shelby 120 North Lafayette Street Shelby, NC 28150 704.482.3467 [email protected]

Fall Conference 2014: NC ACDA Journeys Forward

Carolina Caroler

Anne M. Saxon, NC ACDA President-Elect You may already be aware that after meeting at UNC Greensboro's beautiful School of Music, Theater, and Dance for the past 14 years, we are moving to the UNC Charlotte School of Arts and Architecture this coming fall. Dr. Fred Spano is our new site host, and we eagerly await the new energy this move will create for us. UNC Charlotte's School of Music provides many beautiful spaces for music and collaboration, with the beautiful city of Charlotte as our backdrop. Relocation team members Eric Johnson and Nana Wolfe, as well as President Sandy Holland and I, gathered at the UNC Charlotte campus in February to walk over the campus, view the facilities, and make initial plans. I am currently in the process of contracting conference hotels and making room assignments as session ideas evolve and materialize. Dr. Eric Nelson from Emory University in Atlanta is our conference clinician. I had the privilege of speaking with him personally at the Southern Division Conference in Jacksonville after the inspiring Music and Worship Session in St. John's Cathedral. He is most excited to be attending and looking forward to presenting these sessions: 1. What instrument do you play? When asked this question, most musicians would have a simple answer--”the guitar”, or “the piano.” As conductors, we play “the choir.” The big difference is, we have to build our instrument before we can play it. What do you want yours to sound like?

2. How does it go? The answer to this questions determines everything about our rehearsals and performances. It is as simple--and as complicated--as that.

3. What's next? Music is not like a painting that exists complete and whole. It unfolds in a series of distinct moments and events, one after the other. How many of them matter? Do we see them coming?

4. Sacred Music Programming More details to follow.

As stated in our last newsletter Dr. Andrew Crane from East Carolina University will present "Creating Choirs that Care: How to Motivate Students (of All Varieties) to Buy In to your Artistic Vision", and Dr. José Rivera from UNC Pembroke, who is the National ACDA R&S Chair for Ethnic and Multicultural Perspectives, will present a session titled "Cantemos con Cantamos" that will feature an ethnic demo choir. In addition, Dr. Heather Potter will present a session pertaining to children singers and young choirs. Also, I am very pleased to announce our "NC Sings!" event that will take place on Saturday of the conference! Dr . Madeline Br idges of Belmont Univer sity in Nashville will present a one-day choral skills workshop with children singers from the 3rd - 6th grades. No advance preparation is required; simply register your singers now, and bring them to the workshop on September 20th. During check-in each singer will receive a choral packet designed for use during the workshop and is included in the registration fee. Our Fall Conference is where we create our local choral community and strengthen the "ties that bind" with one another. Please plan to join us in September!!! --Anne

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Yes, We Test Too: Assessment in the Middle School Choral Classroom Eric Johnson, Junior High/Middle School R & S Chair In the last few years the word assessment has become a word that many teachers dread to hear. We are being asked more and more to assess and track our student’s growth and, therefore, we are upping the number and depth of the assessments that we give to our students. As choral directors our forms of assessment are very different from our core teacher colleagues. Most of them view what I do as “just singing” and wonder why I talk about assessments and testing as often as they do. We have our own varied forms of assessments that work in the choral classroom, but could conceptually also work in other classrooms. When we assess our students we are looking to gather information that will give us a specific outcome. Once we have this information then we make our choices and decisions on how to proceed with our pace of instruction. Assessments tell us if we need to go back and review or if we can continue to move forward in the development of the young professional musician. As educators we all must be very familiar with and establish the learning goals and skills that will happen in each and every rehearsal. The learning process should help to sharpen and develop those goals and skills. Once the students have an understanding of the skill or concept, then assessment can begin to occur as a quick and easy part of the rehearsal. Below are some of the ways that I build assessment into my rehearsals and how I try to make it fun and painless for my singers. Quick Quiz Sheet

Choral classes tend to contain more students than regular core classes. Whereas those classes will cap out at thirty students, ours do not have a cap. I personally have four classes over fifty students, and when it comes to grading assessments I look for activities that won’t take up a lot of time. I created a word document that has four boxes on one side and four boxes on the back. Each box is numbered and has a place for the date. This one sheet of paper allows me to fit eight 5-10 question “quick quizzes.” I use my data projector to share the questions for the quiz with the students. I structure it so they are single word response or multiple choice answers. Once I give a quiz, I collect the sheet, grade it, and then return it when it is time for the next quiz. These short assessments allow me to get a quick glimpse at my students understanding of a concept. By structuring these to have no more than ten questions with simple answers, it takes no time to grade. Another plus to giving these quick quizzes is that I maximize my paper allotment by getting eight quizzes out of one piece of paper. Dry Erase Boards I try to utilize a dry erase type activity once a week. These allow for another quick form of assessment. However, dry erase boards can take up a lot of storage space and cost a bit of money when you are trying to have one each for your class of seventy singers. My simple solution was to purchase heavy weight sheet protectors and white cardstock. I also purchased white socks to use as an eraser and the markers fit right inside the sock for easy storage and distribution. Using the sheet protectors also allows for the use of different template sheets that can slide in and out of the sheet protector as needed. I recommend putting the different templates on different colored pieces of paper to help students find the one you are asking for. (continued on next page)

NC ACDA R&S Chairs Male Choirs/MVAS Jayson Snipes Lexington Middle School 100 W. Hemstead St. Lexington, NC 27292 336.242.1567 [email protected] Junior High/ Middle School Choirs Eric Johnson James E. Holmes Middle Sch. 211 N. Pierce Street Eden, NC 27288 336.623.9791 x108 [email protected] Senior High School Choirs Carol Earnhardt Glenn High School 1600 Union Cross Road Kernersville, NC 27284 336.771.4500 [email protected] Show Choirs Mary D. Summerlin C.E. Jordan High School 6806 Garrett Road Durham, NC 27702 919.560.3912 [email protected] Two-Year College Choirs VACANT

Women’s Choirs Beverly Vaughn Western Rockingham Middle School 915 Ayersville Road Madison, NC 27025 336.548.2168 [email protected] Youth & Student Activities Brian Schmidt Duke University Box 90883 Durham, NC 27708 919.684.3855 [email protected]

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Junior High/Middle School: Assessment (continued from page 5)

Here are a few ways I use these dry erase packets: White Cardstock: By using a piece of plain white car dstock you can ask questions and have students give quick responses. This helps you assess at a glance as you scan the room of answers. Single Line Staff: I have a single line staff on another piece of car dstock that I have students compose one or two-measure rhythm patterns. After I scan the room, I then will have some students come to the front to share the rhythm and combine them to form a full rhythm composition. You can also use this single line for the students to write rhythmic dictation. Five Line Staff: On the back side of car dstock with the single line staff I have a full five line staff. I use this to have students compose a single measure melodic pattern. After I scan for correct patterns I then have the students find similar patterns to create a melodic exercise for performance. Melodic Dictation: I have a char t that has eight columns that contain solfege pitches. I will sing a patter n on a neutral syllable and the singers will color the square of the pitches I sang. This visual design is an easy way to check there ability to perceive pitches. Singing Tests Singing tests are the original form of assessment in the choral classroom. I still have vivid memories of being scared to death when I had a director tell me to stand up and sing a section by myself or come up and be part of a quartet. I wanted to do nothing more than curl up into a ball and die right then and there. The fact that everyone was going to hear me sing was not what I wanted to have happen. I still did it because it was expected, but I didn’t like it. As a middle school teacher I try not to put my students in situations that are going to make them feel scared to sing. That is why I now do group singing tests, but I get to hear the individual singer thanks to the magic of technology. To accomplish singing tests I now use a free recording software called Audacity. I have this software installed on forty laptops that are stored in my school’s media center. By using these laptops along with headset microphones, I am able to record an entire section of singers at the same time, while with the headset microphone I only hear the individual that is plugged into that laptop. Once the recordings are made, I have the students listen back and complete a selfassessment based on a rubric that I provide. The students then upload the recordings to a Google Drive folder or to our classroom Edmodo account. This allows me access to these files and to give my assessment directly beside their selfassessment. By doing singing tests this way, no student has to sing by themselves and I can hold upwards of forty singing tests in the time it takes to hold one. I am then able to grade them anywhere I have access to internet, and can hold onto the files in case there is any question about grading from a parent. By using the rubric the students know what I am expecting of them in the recordings. If your school system will not allow you to download programs you can use free website based recordings such as SoundCloud, TwistedWave, Vocaroo, or Record MP3. The same concept can also be accomplished with cell phones and having the students text the voice memo recording to your email. Students Assessing Students Our singers also need to be able assess each other. I work to find ways to allow my students to learn from each other in a positive light. I choose a student every day to compose a rhythmic reading exercise. When we are ready to move to the music literacy part of our rehearsal we then talk about how the exercise works, or how it could be improved. YouTube offers an excellent opportunity for students to assess other choirs. There are lots of good, and not-so-good, recordings on YouTube, my choirs own included. It is very easy to find multiple recordings and interpretations of the pieces of music you are working on. This gives lots of opportunities for comparison and growth for our own performance. During the week I will have my students listen to a recording of another choir on YouTube. Using a rubric, the students are able to grade the choir on the performance viewed. This is especially helpful as we are approaching MPA’s because the students are familiar with the process the judges will be going through while we are performing. Assessment is a very valuable tool to all teachers, but to choral directors it is an important tool on the road to creating artistry and developing young professional musicians. For copies of the rubrics that I use, and for the sheets I created for the Dry Erase activities, please visit my website at www.egjohnson.webs.com and look in the workshops section. ■

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A c t i v i t i e s t o E n h a n c e Yo u r C o l l e g i a t e E d u c a t i o n Brian Schmidt, Youth and Student Activities “Ask not what your education can do for you, but what you can do for your education.” Does this sound familiar? Obviously I have proposed a variation on a familiar quote, but I think the general ethic applies to finding a new level of individual inspiration. There are thousands of young conductor-teachers training to be future music educators in America, and we have very strong programs in this state and region. But there are also many things one can do to complement one’s education and have some fun in the meantime. What are you doing to add to your educational experiences? The best leaders continually seek new avenues of self-improvement. They work hard in their daily duties – whatever they may be – but they are always pursuing other opportunities to expand their skills and knowledge. While the proposed activities below may seem like more work (I know, who has time to do more work?), they are excellent tricks to grow your skills and knowledge outside of daily coursework. Observing other rehearsals: This is one of the most valuable things one can do as a developing conductor . Observe band rehearsals, orchestra rehearsals, jazz ensembles and other choirs. If possible, sit in on ensemble rehearsals at a variety of levels (professional, amateur, youth) so you can see what differs at each level. As you observe, take note of musical details throughout each rehearsal and try to avoid obvious generalizations, like “that was out of tune” or “that wasn’t together.” If the ensemble is out of tune, try to identify exactly why it is out of tune. Is the passage in a difficult register for one of the sections? Are the singers lacking pure vowels and distorting the clarity of pitch? If it is “not together,” focus your ear on which section is specifically contributing to this. If you want to take it one step further, try to begin guessing what the conductor will rehearse each time they stop the ensemble. Will it be diction, tuning, tone, vowels, rhythmic accuracy, dynamics? Obviously, great conductors work on all of these, but every conductor has their own set of priorities. This exercise will temporarily steer you away from your own listening instincts/preferences and push you to get inside the mind of another conductor. It is a great exercise (and kind of fun!) and will push your listening skills in new and exciting ways. Expanding critical listening skills: Select a major wor k or an album and invite some fr iends over to listen together. Always gather scores if you can, as it will definitely elevate the experience to be reading the music while listening. Then discuss what you heard after listening and ask questions of one another. What about the music was particularly good or bad? Was the performance solid? Were there soloists and did they fit the parts well? If you want to take it one step further, listen to a variety of albums and write your own reviews. The process of committing to a particular standpoint (and writing it down) will help to sharpen your ability to speak concisely about what you hear in your own rehearsals. Resist the temptation to “just listen” to an album. Listen deeply and take note of what you hear. Again, have scores in hand while you listen and make notes. If this becomes a regular activity (1-2 per month) one can also acquaint themselves with a large amount of repertoire and ensembles. Reading other reviews (Choral Journal, Early Music America, Gramophone, American Record Guide, etc.) is also valuable and, after listening to an album yourself, see whether you agree or disagree with the critique? Do you hear the same things as the critic?

Sight-reading parties: Gather a gr oup and have each per son br ing a chor al piece with enough copies to pass around. A party like this is great fun and may introduce you to new pieces. It can be good to also read through each piece a second or third time and see how much it improves each time. If you want to take it one step further, design a theme like (1) Renaissance motets, (2) Bach chorales, (3) modern pieces, (4) Christmas carol and folk song arrangements, or (5) “stump your friends,” and have each person try to find a piece of music that nobody will know. With increasing competition for music education jobs and admittance into graduate conducting programs, there is also an increasing need to set oneself apart from the field of applicants. No choral program can fully prepare young conductors for the “other side” when you begin conducting and teaching on your own, and the more you add to your education the better off you will be. I hope you have some fun trying some of these activities – I certainly have! ■

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An Evening of Entertainment to Unify Singers Mary Summerlin, Show Choir R & S Chair For the past thirty five years, Durham County Public Schools have put together an event called A n Evening of Entertainment. Each year, usually in February, the elementary, middle and high school choral programs come together to put on a stellar performance. Vocal clinicians are called in, choreographers are employed and teachers spring into action in order to organize an event that has grown to over five hundred student participants. It is a grand show-choir event that benefits the Durham Public Schools Scholarship Fund. The event is a favorite for my students. I have often wondered what it is about the event that makes it so appealing, so, I asked them! “EOE. Those three letters mean so much to many people. They stand for An Evening of Entertainment. I love participating in this fantastic, large show. It is full of many people who share the same joy and excitement as I. When thinking of Evening of Entertainment, four words that come to mind are lights, kids, choreography and fun. Personally I have been participating in this Durham show since I was in 3rd grade. I feel joy when I get to perform with others who also find this show fun and exciting. All the hard work that everyone puts into the show is the reason that makes EOE what it is. I would tell anyone who was thinking of doing EOE to most definitely do it. You get to learn fun music, fun choreography and to see all the schools and grades come together and put on a show for many parents, principals and community members. My years of EOE have come to an end but anytime the show is happening I would go back to the beautiful Durham Performing Arts Center to see all the kids perform. The curtain is down and my experience is done, but the lights will forever shine bright for this program!” Meredith Seagroves, 12th grade student “Each year I look forward to working with professionals and being part of something bigger than myself. When the curtains rise and the lights go up, all of Durham hears our voices and it is a powerful moment. The applause is the most rewarding. It is a symbol of young voices being heard and everyone coming together to share a unique experience in a universal way.” Angelica Cohen, 12th grade student

The show has changed over the past thirty five years. It began as a way to unify the county through music and to aid the county in providing scholarships for seniors. The performance was held in one of the local high schools until the Durham Performing Arts Center was built a few years ago. We have had the honor of performing on the same stage as many famous acts and it gives students an experience they cannot duplicate. If you are interested in doing a large event, here is the repertoire we have done over the past few years: 2004: One Song, Sing A Song, Come on Over Baby, Disco Fever Medley, Swing Street, Mountain Music, Me Falta Tiempo Para un Tiempo, Time for Healing, Wild, Wild West, Sing Me to Heaven, Disney Dazzle Medley 2006: Footloose, Put a Little Love In Your Heart (with Love Train), Will We Love?, Like Someone In Love, I Believe My Heart, Dies Irae, Wrong Note Rag, Best of My Love, Back in Love Again, Anthem of Praise, Tshotsholoza, Fields of Gold, Mamma Mia Medley 2007: Kuna Karamu, Follow Your Dream, Walk in Jerusalem, Listen to the Music, I Won’t Dance, Africa, Alleluia Fanfare, Working My Way Back To You, If You are Going to Play in Texas, Don’t Stop, Le Train D’Hiver, Gloria Patri, After the Love has Gone, When I’m Sixty-Four, It Might As Well Be Spring, High School Musical Medley 2008: Sing a Song, The Promise/Celebrate the Future, May Night, I Hear America Singing, I am His Child, Famine Song, Proud Mary, Dance Evolution (Medley), Nothing Like a Dame, St. Louis Blues, American Medley, Mary Poppins Medley 2014: Aladdin, Dreamgirls, Bring Him Home, We Are Family, Can You Hear, September, Teen Beach Movie Medley, Can you Feel the Love Tonight, The Lion Sleeps Tonight Sing (and Dance) On, --Mary D. Summerlin

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Coming up at the fall conference: CONGRATULATIONS TO...

Children as Worship Leaders: The Children's Choir for the 21st Century

Carol Earnhardt Glenn High School Kernersville Carol is a featured contributor to the Spring 2014 online edition of ACDA’s ChorTeach. Her article, “The Mother/Daughter Choir: A Unique Experience for your High School Women’s Choir,” was originally printed in the Carolina Caroler, Spring 2014 edition. ChorTeach articles can be found in the “Publications” section of the ACDA website: www.acda.org.

How opportunities for active worship leadership might reshape our view of the church children's choir and enhance the child's singing experience. Presented by

Dr. Heather Potter

ACDA 2014 Deadlines A Handy Chart Event NC ACDA Fall Conference

UNC Charlotte

North Carolina Sings!

2015 ACDA National Conference

Event Dates

Registration

September

Discount: usually one month prior to the event

19-20

September 20

/Application

June 15

February

Opens: October 1

25-28

Early Reg. Ends: Jan. 21

Other On Site

First come-first served after July 1

No Reading Packet option after Jan. 21

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Carolina Caroler

Community Choirs: Steps to Success (continued from page 2)

No choral organization is successful without an outstanding accompanist. The community choir would benefit from having an accompanist who reads well and has had experience playing for choirs. The basic concepts of choral music are sometimes foreign to accompanying novices. Therefore, experience is important. One benefit of a good accompanist is an extra pair of attentive ears that can be used to discern particular problem areas for future rehearsal. Conductors find it very difficult to conduct empty chairs. But where does one find those warm bodies to fill those seats? One of the rules of growing an organization is to know where your prospects are. The primary sources of singers are usually where singers are currently involved, or where they have been. Current habitats for singers in the community include church choirs and university choirs. Another source of singers is in the local studios of private voice teachers. The amount of publicity this new group receives is in direct proportion to the number of people who will be in your group. Every possible avenue of publicity should be pursued. Social media, newspapers, church bulletins and broadcast media are excellent places to begin recruitment. Perhaps the best source of publicity and recruitment is the choir’s website. A professional website offers numerous options for communicating with the surrounding community and promoting the choir’s musical endeavors. Additional questions to consider include who will you accept as members of this choir? Will you audition the singers? What level of musicians do you want? All are good questions, but most authorities agree that you should audition the singers who are interested. Auditioning for the group makes membership a valued asset. Retention, attendance, and a feeling of “ownership” are rewards for an auditioned ensemble. III. Developing Community support: Many community choruses fail to elicit public support from the community. This support may range from local politicians to arts leaders. Local music leaders are also a key contact. These influential musicians are the connection to your potential audience. Personal contact with these musicians through informal visits affords the opportunity to share the community choir vision and find ways your group can partner with their programs. Many conductors find a group of advisers, representing a cross section of the community, highly advantageous. Often this group is called an “advisory board,” or “board of directors.” The wise conductor sees them not only as intellectual supporters, but as a source of invaluable insight into the minds of the community. This type of group can help brainstorm repertoire selection, available performance venues, sources of donations and other resources. IV. Planning for the Future Planning for the future involves community relations, repertoire selection, and organizational expansion. The first presentation of your ensemble is much more than a choral concert; it is the first impression of artistry, communication, and unity that participants and constituents will experience. For this initial concert, consider multiple settings. Local community facilities, churches, and venues in which singers have personal connections are beneficial locations. These settings expose and publicize the group. They also offer population pools for personnel recruitment.

Future successes also require an awareness of and investment in the constantly changing environment of the ensemble and the community in which it operates. Openness to change, both in personnel and community, affords the ensemble vast opportunities for diversity and growth. Furthermore, finding ways to partner with other community organizations increases viability and patronage and leads to longevity of the ensemble. Some partnerships include health care organizations, local arts initiatives, and places of worship. Preparing for the future necessitates imagination, innovation, and experimentation. The inventive community choir should consistently evaluate progress, set new goals, and reach for new opportunities in regards to repertoire selection. Groups should pursue musical performances highlighting masterworks in addition to new composition premieres. Building repertoire adds concert diversity and offers singers the opportunity to vocally engage in varying styles and genres. The adept group will have musical programs upon which they can build future musical endeavors. (continued on next page)

Spring 2014

Community Choirs: Steps to Success (continued from page 12)

The musical content of the first concert should reflect the purpose of the organization. Consider offering a program of music interconnected with an overall theme, perhaps one derived from the mission statement of the organization. For RDU Sacred Chorale, the first concert was built around the theme of “God’s Work,” and included selections of various styles reflecting this idea and the purpose of the chorus: Arise, Shine, Dan Forrest The Majesty and Glory of Your Name, Tom Fetke With a voice of Singing, Kenneth Jennings Cantate Domino, Giuseppe Pitoni The Word Was God, Rosephanye Powell Brother James’s Air, Gordon Jacob Jesus Loves Me, arr. Michael Hassell Moses, Ken Medema Saul, Egil Hovland I Can Tell the World, arr. Moses Hogan Although the subject of incorporating the organization as a non-profit is an important step in being recognized

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in the community and as a place the community can make tax-deductible donations, this subject could be the subject of a multipart series of articles. There are a number of publications available that can help you with this process, but the greatest asset you can have in this area would be a good local lawyer who is willing to work with you on a pro bono basis. Through determining need, evaluating resources, developing community support and planning for the future, establishing a new, exciting choral ensemble in the community becomes a real possibility and reflects the overall mission of ACDA, which is “to inspire excellence in choral music through education, performance, composition, and advocacy.” ■ Aaron Jackson is the Minister of Music and Worship at Christ Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC. He holds degrees from Campbell University and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and is a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He is the NC ACDA R&S Chair for Community Choirs and the Exhibits Chair for both NC ACDA and Southern Division ACDA. John Boozer is Professor of Church Music at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC. He has taught Middle School music, served churches in Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and North Carolina. He holds a B. M. from Samford University, MCM from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a DMA in Choral Conducting from LSU.

Carolina Caroler

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“Good New Repertoire” Initiative Nathan Leaf, Newsletter Editor SO MUCH GREAT NEW MUSIC, SO LITTLE TIME! In order to better enable all of us to learn about new compositions that we might want to consider performing with our choirs, your newsletter editor is going to endeavor to create a system by which we can share with each other recently composed pieces that we have found to be especially good, exciting, or useful. At the end of each academic year, the editor will take submissions from any conductors who wish to share information about pieces written or published within the last three years that they have performed during that academic year. The editor will catalogue the submissions into an organized reference file that everyone can view (most likely, on the NC ACDA web site). The editor will not review the music submitted or attempt to judge its musical quality, but will simply be a conduit for NC ACDA members to share information with each other. How to submit: Send an email to [email protected] with GOOD NEW REPERTOIRE as the subject What to Submit: 1. Your Name 2. Title 3. Composer & Text Author 4. Publisher (if published) 5. Voicing/Instrumentation 6. Type of ensemble that performed it Mid. school girls, high school mixed, volunteer church, etc.

7. Level of Difficulty Use the JW Pepper scale: VE-Very Easy; E-Easy; ME-Medium Easy; M-Medium; MA-Medium Advanced; A-Advanced

The mission of the American Choral Directors Association is to inspire excellence in choral music through education, performance, composition, and advocacy.

Deadline: June 15, 2014 Criteria: Submissions must be works that you have performed and found to be worthy, and were written or published in the year 2011 or later.

Spring 2014

Tr e a s u r e r ’ s R e p o r t Catherine Butler, NC ACDA Treasurer

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Carolina Caroler

Spring 2014

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Carolina Caroler North Carolina American Choral Directors Association

545 Couch Drive Oklahoma City OK 73102-2207

www.ncacdaonline.org

In this Issue: Fall Conference Info; NC Sings!; New Repertoire Initiative; R&S Chairs

Editor’s Note Nathan Leaf, Newsletter Editor

As the 2013-14 academic year draws to a close, many of us are, will be, or recently have been in the midst of a flurry of final concerts, productions, and performances. It’s always good at this time of year to stop, take a minute, draw a deep breath (assuming the pollen in the air allows you to do so), and try to recall the sense of joy that got you into this business in the first place. The conductor Patrick Quigley once quipped that in the grand scheme of life “there is no such thing as a choral emergency.” How fortunate we are to work in such an industry. Best wishes to everyone in your upcoming performances, and don’t forget to smell the flowers on your way there. (ah-choo!) ~Nathan

The Carolina Caroler is the official newsletter of the North Carolina chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. Articles and advertisements may be submitted to: Nathan Leaf at [email protected]. Articles may be submitted via email as Word documents. Times New Roman, or similar, with font size 11 is preferred. Please do not double space after punctuations (periods)—a practice held back in the days of typewriters—it is not necessary with word processing. Issue

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NC ACDA reserves the right to edit any application for appearance and to edit all materials proposed for distribution. Advertising Rates The Carolina Caroler will accept advertising at the following rates:

Full page-$150.00 (c. 7.5”x10”) Half page-$100.00 (c. 7.5”x 4.5”) Quarter page-$50.00 (c. 3.75”x 4.5”) Discounts are available on multiple ads of the same design. Rates listed are for digital .jpg or .pdf files. A check made payable to “North Carolina ACDA” must accompany the order. Advertisers will NOT be billed. Copy will not run without advance payment. Advertising copy is subject to editorial approval. The editor reserves the right to head and/or box any advertisement bearing confusing resemblance to editorial material.